New Chinese foreign minister heads to Africa for first trip

 The new foreign minister’s visit follows in the footsteps of his predecessors over the last three decades.

China’s new foreign minister Qin Gang is starting his term with a weeklong trip to five African countries, its foreign ministry announced.

Qin, who until recently was ambassador to the United States, will visit Ethiopia, Gabon, Angola, Benin and Egypt from January 9 to 16, spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a daily media briefing on Monday.

In Egypt, Qin will also meet the secretary-general of the Arab League.

The new foreign minister is following in the footsteps of his predecessors, who have for more than 30 years started each year with a trip to Africa.

“It shows that China attaches great importance to the traditional friendship with Africa and the development of China-Africa relations,” Wang said.

Qin, 56, was appointed foreign minister on December 30. He succeeded Wang Yi, 69, who has replaced Yang Jiechi as the government’s top foreign policy official.

Some commentators have called the China-Africa cooperation a symbiotic relationship from which both parties stand to gain. But there have also been controversies about a perceived “debt trap” and China’s “palace diplomacy” – funding huge infrastructure projects for African governments to secure influence within their ranks.

And as the United States and France look to rebuild relationships with Africa just as Russia’s sphere of influence is widening, China has been strengthening its footing on the continent.

The moves demonstrate the increased need to woo Africa at a time of growing global tension and a potential “new Cold War”, said Stephen Chan, a professor of world politics at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

“France, Russia, the US and China are all courting African countries – both for diplomatic support in organs like the UN, but also as economic and political allies and partners,” he told Al Jazeera.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

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Bosnian Serbs award Putin with medal of honour

 Separatist leader awards Russian president with medal for ‘patriotic concern’ for Bosnia’s Republika Srpska entity.

Milorad Dodik, the Bosnian Serb separatist leader, has awarded Russian President Vladimir Putin in absentia with the highest medal of honour for his “patriotic concern and love” for the Serb-controlled half of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“Putin is responsible for developing and strengthening cooperation and political and friendly relations between RS [Republika Srpska entity in Bosnia] and Russia,” Dodik said at an awards ceremony on Sunday in the Serb-majority city of Banja Luka.

Dodik, who visited Putin in September in Moscow, has maintained close ties with the Russian president despite Russia’s war in Ukraine.

He praised Putin for Russia’s support of Republika Srpska and said he would present the medal to him at their next meeting.

“Thanks to the position of Vladimir Putin and the strength of the Russian Federation, the voice and position of Republika Srpska has been heard and respected,” he said.

Moscow has often been accused by the West of seeking to destabilise Bosnia and the rest of the Balkans through its proxies in Serbia and Bosnia.

Dodik has openly advocated tearing away Republika Srpska to join it up with neighbouring Serbia.

Russian envoys have supported him in his secessionist moves aimed at weakening the central government.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Dodik tried to block efforts of the tripartite presidency for Bosnia to join European Union sanctions against Moscow.

Last month, Russia denounced the EU for granting Bosnia candidate status to join the bloc. The Kremlin earlier warned that it would consider Bosnia’s moves towards joining NATO as a “hostile act”.

A US-brokered peace deal in 1995 ended the war in Bosnia that killed at least 100,000 people and made millions homeless, but left the country deeply divided between its three main ethnic groups.

Dodik awarded Putin on the occasion of “Republika Srpska Day”, which is deemed illegal by Bosnia’s Constitutional Court.

January 9 marks when Bosnian Serbs proclaimed they were splitting from Bosnia in 1992, with the aim of separating the Serb-populated regions of the Balkan state and joining them up with Serbia.

Tensions were running high in Bosnia as the Serbs planned to hold their main celebrations on the outskirts of Sarajevo on Monday, the town they held under siege for three years during the war.

Thousands of people were killed in the relentless shelling and sniping of the Bosnian capital.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES

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I’m ashamed to beg for food – Kenya’s deputy president

 Kenya’s deputy president says he is ashamed that he has beg for food relief amid food shortages in the country.

“I spend all my time, with foreigners, begging for food. Including those who colonised us. It is humiliating. But I have no choice because we cannot let our people die,” he told local media.

The deputy president said that consecutive failed rains had left many people with no food and some had died.

He said he had prayed while at the foot of Mt Kenya for God to “heal our land” and save the people from the crisis.

Speaking to a local-language TV, Mr Gachagua said begging was deeply loathed within his community, terming it demeaning as a son of a former freedom fighter.

Source: BBC

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Single-Use Plastic Cutlery And Plates To Be Banned In England

 

Single-use items like plastic cutlery, plates and trays will be banned in England, the government has confirmed. It is not clear when the ban will come into effect, but it follows similar moves already made by Scotland and Wales. Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey said the move would help protect the environment for future generations.

Campaigners welcomed the ban, but called for a wider-ranging plastic reduction strategy.

Government figures suggest that 1.1 billion single-use plates and more than four billion pieces of plastic cutlery are used in England every year.

Plastic waste often does not decompose and can last in landfill for many years.

Although it might be useful in terms of food hygiene, it can also end up as litter, in turn polluting soil and water.

The confirmation of the move from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) follows a long consultation, which will be published on Saturday 14 January.

Each person in England uses an average of 18 single-use plastic plates and 37 items of plastic cutlery every year, according to Defra, while just 10% of those are recycled.

Ms Coffey is set to ban a range of single-use plastic items mainly relating to takeaway food and drink.

“I am determined to drive forward action to tackle this issue head on. We've already taken major steps in recent years – but we know there is more to do, and we have again listened to the public's calls,” she said.

“This new ban will have a huge impact to stop the pollution of billions of pieces of plastics and help to protect the natural environment for future generations.”

Similar bans have already been made in Scotland, while single-use plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds were already banned in England in 2020.

Scotland introduced a ban on businesses using a range of single-use plastic goods in June last year. Laws for a similar ban in Wales were approved in December and will come into force later in 2023.

This latest measure does not, however, cover items found in supermarkets or shops. The government said it would address those by other means.

Megan Randles, political campaigner for Greenpeace UK, said that the organization welcomed the ban but further action was needed.

She said: “We’re dealing with a plastic flood, and this is like reaching for a mop instead of turning off the tap.”

She called on the government to deliver a “meaningful” strategy on how to reduce plastic use, which would also include stringent targets and “a proper reuse and refill scheme”.

Source: BBC

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Kwame Nkrumah Deserves Credit For Ghana’s Sustained Democracy — CPP

 Mr Abdul Malik Jeleel, Deputy National Communications Director, Convention People’s Party (CPP), has lauded Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first President, as the “pacesetter of Ghana’s sustained democracy”.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency to mark the Constitution Day, which was commemorated on January 7 2023, he said the foundation of Ghana’s constitutional rule started when the CPP Government adopted the first constitution in 1957.

The adoption of the first Constitution, Mr Jeleel said, had a positive impact and accounted for the success of the 4th Republican Constitutional rule.

“As we celebrate the Constitution Day, credit ought to be given to Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah for the foundation he laid, making Ghana as the beacon of hope of Africa’s democracy building in the 21st century.

“The recent coup d’états in Equatorial Guinea, Burkina Faso, etc and Ghanaians, especially our Armed Forces and other security agencies should applaud themselves and use the day to uphold our constitutional rule despite challenges in governance,” he said.

Since 2019, every December 7 is observed as Constitution Day, a public holiday set aside to mark the coming into effect of the 1992 Constitution and the birth of the Fourth Republic.

Mr Jeleel urged the media and the civil society to play their key roles as democratic actors for a strengthened rule of law as well as effective governance for accelerated development and growth.

While condemning some chaotic conducts of the Majority and Minority caucuses in Parliament which he said had stained the country’s democratic credentials, he urged Members of Parliament to work together in the interest of the people.

Mr Jeleel said although heated debates were part of the culture of the House, such situations should be managed in a manner that did not lead into fisticuffs.

“The application of the 1957 Constitution also had heated debates; for example, in December 1957, the CPP-dominated Parliament passed the Avoidance of Discrimination Act (ADA) and the Preventive Detention Act (PDA).

“The CPP adopted uncompromising attitude and strategy of using its majority in parliament to get their Bill passed without using an open-floor fight in the chamber of Parliament,” he noted.

Mr Jeleel rallied the citizenry to be “responsible citizens” and contribute their quota in their respective disciplines to strengthen and sustain the country’s constitutional rule.
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Source: GNA

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Ex-Zambian Footballer, Mulala Mauled To Death By His Three Dogs In South Africa

 A former Zambian national football star, Philemon Mulala, was mauled to death by his three dogs in South Africa.

Mulala, 60, was attacked at his home in Lichtenburg, North West, on Saturday, January 7, 2023.
Provincial police spokesperson, Captain Sam Tselanyane, confirmed the incident in a statement on Monday, January 9.

“It is alleged that on the said day during load shedding, the deceased’s wife was busy on the other side of their house when she heard the dogs barking. She didn’t bother to go and check what was wrong as their house is situated on a busy street and the dogs are frequently barking at pedestrians and vehicles passing by. Moreover, after the electricity was restored, she allegedly went inside the house looking for her husband, but could not find him,” he stated.

“Upon continuing with the search, the woman saw her husband lying motionless outside in the garden, she then quickly went outside only to find that her husband was bitten by their dogs, two staffie/pitbull crossings and one unknown breed dog,”

“Police and Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) were called and the man was certified dead at the scene. The SPCA were also called and the three dogs were removed from the premises,” he added

As a result, an inquest docket has been opened and investigation into the matter continues.
Meanwhile, the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) is mourning the former Mufulira Wanderers and national team midfielder.

Mulala arrived in South Africa to play for Kaizer Chiefs in 1988, Pule Iniesta Jakkals shared on the NPSL, NSL, NFL, FPL & PSL ex-Pros page on Facebook.

He also played for Cape Town Spurs and Lenasia Dynamos.

The association said Mulala was notably part of the 1984 Zambian squad that won the East and Central Africa Challenge cup under coach Col Brightwell Banda.

FAZ general secretary Adrian Kashala said the football fraternity had lost a gallant soldier.
“We remain with wonderful memories that the late Philemon honoured us with on the pitch. There is a lot that today’s players can learn from the deceased’s generation,” Kashala said.

Source: peacefmonline

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‘Camilla Was Dangerous’ – We Begged Our Father Not To Marry Her – Says Prince Harry

 Prince Harry has launched an extraordinary attack on his father, King Charles’ wife Camilla, branding her ‘dangerous’ and a ‘villain’, as he continued his publicity for his explosive memoir Spare.

The 38-year-old Duke of Sussex took aim at the Queen Consort while speaking with CBS News’ 60 Minutes host Anderson Cooper, who questioned Harry about several very damaging allegations he made about Camilla in the book’s pages.

Referring back to a 1995 interview in which his mother, Princess Diana, famously referred to Camilla as the ‘third person in her marriage’, Harry says that this admission turned the now-Queen Consort into a ‘villain’, adding: ‘She needed to rehabilitate her image.’

According to Harry – who also reveals in his book that he and William ‘begged’ their father not to marry Camilla – this desire to transform her public image made her ‘dangerous’.

He accuses his step-mother of ‘trading information’ with the press in an attempt to get more positive stories written about herself, before sensationally suggesting that her ‘connections’ with the media would end up with ‘people or bodies left in the street’.

”Her need to rehabilitate her image made her dangerous because of the connections that she was forging within the British press,’ he told Cooper, according to an official transcript of the interview.

”And there was open willingness on both sides to trade off information. And with a family built on hierarchy, and with her, on the way to being Queen Consort, there was gonna be people or bodies left in the street because of that.”

Princess Diana’s interview with the BBC’s Martin Bashir in 1995 marked the first time that she had publicly addressed claims that Charles and Camilla had an affair during her marriage to the then-Prince of Wales.

At the time, she sensationally told Bashir: ‘There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.’

Source: dailymail.co.uk

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Gabon names first female vice president and new prime minister

 The new vice president, the first woman to hold the position in Gabon, was previously prime minister and defence minister.

Gabon’s President Ali Bongo has appointed the country’s first female Prime Minister Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda to the role of vice president and named a new PM to replace her, his secretary-general said.

The announcements were made on Monday.

Former Defence Minister Ossouka Raponda, 59, who had been appointed premier in July 2020 after her predecessor stepped down, will now “assist” the head of state though the position does not allow for an interim role as president.

She is the country’s first-ever female vice president.

Another former minister, Alain-Claude Bilie-By-Nze, will replace Ossouka Raponda and form a new government, Bongo’s secretary-general Jean-Yves Teale said in a video statement posted on the presidency’s Twitter account.

Bilie-By-Nze, 55, is a close ally of the president and has held several ministerial jobs since 2006. Later on Monday, he announced a government composed of 45 ministers with no reshuffles in the key positions.

As prime minister, Ossouka Raponda had to navigate a delicate political scene after a coup attempt in 2019 while Bongo was on prolonged medical leave following a stroke.

The new vice president has had a steady political rise in Gabon which has been ruled by the same family for more than five decades.

She was named budget minister in 2012 before being elected mayor of the capital, Libreville, in 2014, becoming the first woman to hold that position since 1956. She is an economist by training who graduated from the Gabonese Institute of Economy and Finance, specialising in public finance.

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES

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